


Mesilla: Sweet 'n Slightly Cracky AUs

by prompt_fills



Category: Football RPF
Genre: Alternate Reality, Alternate Universe, Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-18
Updated: 2013-06-18
Packaged: 2017-12-15 06:32:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/846400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prompt_fills/pseuds/prompt_fills
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Leo keeps walking into alternative realities when all he wants is to find his real world.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mesilla: Sweet 'n Slightly Cracky AUs

**Author's Note:**

> If the AUs get confusing, there is a neat spoilery list of them in the end notes. ;)
> 
> Written for [](http://footballkink2.livejournal.com/profile)[**footballkink2**](http://footballkink2.livejournal.com/), PP4, [this prompt in which anon asks for something cheerful.](http://footballkink2.livejournal.com/9768.html?thread=4381480#t4381480)  
> 

Leo stirs awake because the bed is too warm. His fringe is damp, sticking to his forehead, he’s sweating and the bedcovers are too warm.

Someone presses a kiss to the back of his neck, mumbling: “Mornin’, love.”

Leo tenses because he _recognizes_ the voice. “Good morning?” It comes out at least an octave higher than usual. The lips kiss their way up to Leo’s jaw, unrushed.

“David?” Leo squeaks and he’d be horrified by that undignified sound if he wasn’t already freaking out.

“Mmmm,” David hums agreeably and starts gently nibbling at Leo’s earlobe which is Leo’s bullet-proof kink but David shouldn’t know that. Leo lets out a shaky breath, momentarily lost in the sensation.

It takes a while for the reality to kick back in. “Wait. Wait. David, stop!” Leo twists so they are facing each other and he reaches to push David off. The moment his hands touch the warm, naked skin, Leo jerks back and flushes.

“You don’t want me to stop,” David purrs, sneaking one hand under the covers, teasingly brushing past Leo’s waist and hipbone. His movements are slow, deliberate, and he never stops staring into Leo’s wide eyes. “Do you?” David asks, licking his lips and moving his hand lower to squeeze Leo’s thigh. Leo is momentarily stunned into silence which David takes as an confirmation and his eyes sparkle up. “Knew it, baby. C’mon we still have some time.”

Leo _eeps_ and jumps out of the bed. He crosses the room, hurrying through the opened door to the bathroom. He slams the door close behind him and after a brief pause, he twists the lock as well. He ignores David’s shouts.

He paces the small bathroom, pausing in front of the mirror. His eyes are wide, he looks flustered and his hair is a mess. He runs his hand through it. He is trying to flatten it down with his palms when a glint in the mirror catches his gaze. He brings his hand down to his face for observation and there it is – a ring around his finger.

Leo forces himself to breath steadily and then he splashes cold water on his face. It doesn’t help; he still feels like he’s just about to faint. He carefully slides down to the floor and leans back against the bathtub, welcoming the chill that immediately seeps through his thin t-shirt.

It’s okay, he tells himself. It’s okay because it’s David. It could have been so much worse. Maybe he doesn’t remember much – or nothing at all – but it’s just David. They could still try to get an annulment. Or divorce. Even if David didn’t look like he wanted either of that. And it was _David_. Leo’s mind is racing.

David starts pounding on the door, sounding panicked now, and Leo gulps and breaths through his nose, his heart hammering in his chest. They need to talk about it.

He feels sorry for making David worry but somewhere in the whirl of emotions, it pleases Leo to know that David cares.

He takes in a deep breath and gives himself a couple of minutes before he pulls himself up to his feet, unlocks the door and steps out.

****

~*~

He hangs his head low and studies the floor, wishing his hair was longer again so it would fall into his face. David doesn’t say anything for so long Leo feels like the silence in the room is suffocating him. He looks up – and gasps.

He isn’t in the bedroom anymore, he’s in a kitchen and it’s darker outside than it was before. David enters the room from somewhere on Leo’s left and he is carrying a steaming cup in one hand and a briefcase in the other. He carefully settles the cup on the table next to Leo and then he leans in to press a quick peck on Leo’s cheek.

“I’d better hurry up, my classes start in—” David pauses to glance at the watch on his wrist and scowls, “in half an hour.”

“Uh,” Leo manages, his cheek still tingling.

“See you in the afternoon. I’ll make it up to you, I promise,” David says, hastily slipping on his jacket. Leo swears that David’s eyes glint with something heavy as he says that. Leo is still trying to catalogue that look when David waves him goodbye and is out of the door.

Leo is standing rooted to the spot, staring after where David left, when David returns. “Forgot my damn keys,” he mutters darkly but he blows Leo an air-kiss before he leaves again.

Leo sags into the nearest chair at the table, placing both hands around the steaming cup. He is staring into the cup when David sweeps into the room, calling: “I’m gone, already gone! Just forgot the marked essays,” as he rushes past Leo. There is some cursing and then David is sprinting back outside, the front door falling shut behind him with a click. The house is suddenly oddly quiet.

Leo pushes the cup away, sets his head on the table and groans. He is too young to be this insane.

****

~*~

Leo sits at the table until his back starts to hurt. Then he slowly raises up from his seat and tells himself to stay focused. He talks himself out of having a mental breakdown right here and right now and goes to explore the house instead. It’s a big, modern apartment with lot of open space. Leo takes everything in, from the pictures hung on the wall to the unfamiliar books on the shelves. Nothing makes sense.

He decides to go back into the bathroom but when he turns the doorknob and takes a step over the threshold, the worlds whirls around him. He blindly reaches out with his arm, trying to keep himself upright.

Someone gives him a good shove from behind and he falls down to his knees.

“Get up,” someone yells at him, the sharp tone causing the hairs at the nape of Leo’s neck to rise. And it’s not just that; the room is freezing cold. Leo doesn’t move, shocked still. There is an iron grasp on his forearms as someone grabs him and roughly yanks Leo up on his feet.

“What do we do with him now?”

“The usual. Don’t forget to cut the lights out,” someone briskly replies to the first man’s question. Leo is dragged a few more steps ahead, before he’s stripped out of his shirt and forced to sit in an uncomfortable chair with his hands painfully twisted behind his back.

Leo’s heart stutters in his chest when he hears the soft metallic click and he realizes he’s being cuffed to the chair. “Let me go,” he gasps, pulling against the restraints.

His protests earn him a punch in the face. It comes out of nowhere and Leo’s head rolls to the side with the force of it. He can taste blood on his tongue. He closes his eyes and braces himself but no more blows land on him. His attacker leans closer and breathes into his face. Leo keeps his eyes shut. His palms are sweating but he can’t move his hands to wipe the sweat off.

Someone barks a harsh laugh and snaps his fingers. “You! Get the lights.”

The men walk out and close the door. It fells shut with a heavy iron clang. The room is plunged into impenetrable darkness when Leo finally dares to open his eyes. Everything is perfectly silent.

It’s hard to keep track on time after that but Leo thinks at least five or six hours must have passed until the men return.

One of them steps in front of Leo, aiming a punch to his ribs. Leo inhales sharply, wondering at the odd sensation on his face. Belatedly, he realizes he’s got smears of his own dried blood on his chin.

“Let’s continue. We stick to the plan,” says a new voice. “Follow me.”

He is hauled to his feet in no time and pushed out of the cell towards the dimly lit hallway. Leo turns his head to look at the man who is manhandling him. He has exactly two seconds to process the fact that it’s David. The man walking in front of them lets the iron door swing to Leo’s face and Leo tries to bring his hands in front of his face. Then everything spins out of focus.

****

~*~

The new room is sunny and warm. Leo’s eyes tear up at the sudden change in the lighting and he takes a few calming breaths. For once, he recognizes the place he is in; he’s in David’s bedroom. He slowly lets his hands fall to his sides but he nearly jumps out of his skin when David storms into the room, shoving his phone into his pocket with a scowl on his face.

“One of these days, I swear I’ll— Oh my God, Leo!”

Involuntarily, Leo tenses up.

“What happened to you?” David hurries to his side, eyebrows shooting up as he notices the state Leo is in. “You’re bleeding!”

“It’s nothing,” Leo croaks, bringing one hand to his face, trying to feel the split lip. It isn’t bleeding anymore.

David’s eyes widen, his chest raising and falling rapidly, his breathing uneven.

“I’ll be fine,” Leo tries to reassure him. “If I could get some water it would be nice.”

“I’ll be right back,” David nods and gives Leo a quick searching look as if he’s assuring himself Leo won’t keel over and die while he’s gone.

“I’ll sit down for a while, if you don’t mind.”

David waves him to his bed. “You do that. Do you want me to help?”

“I’ll be fine,” Leo repeats, slowly starting to believe that.

“You don’t look fine. What happened to your shirt?”

“I lost it,” Leo says simply.

“Yeah, I noticed,” David growls. Instead of fetching Leo the promised glass of water, he steps closer to the other man and reaches out with his hand. David prods his ribs and Leo tries not to hiss in pain as David does so. “Nothing seems to be broken,” David concludes, his hand pressed flat against Leo’s chest.

Leo’s heart speeds up at the touch so he clears his throat and David quickly moves his hand away. “I promise I’m fine. I’d just like something to drink.”

“Sure,” David says but he doesn’t leave until Leo sits down on David’s bed. 

David returns and gives Leo a glass of water and one of his clean white shirts. As David takes the empty glass from Leo, he asks quietly: “Who did this to you?”

 _“I’m pretty sure it was you,”_ Leo doesn’t answer. Instead, he closes his eyes and pretends to fall asleep. Actually, he must doze off pretty quickly, because he dreams about David leaning down and kissing him on his forehead, taking Leo’s hand in his and settling down next to Leo on his bed.

****

~*~

For a brief moment after Leo wakes up, everything is quiet and familiar. The noises, the smells. He’s in a bed, warm and secure. Then Leo blinks his eyes open and his gaze meets a framed picture on the nightstand table. Him and David on some nice, sunny beach. David had to take the photo, capturing a smudge of his own mischievous face in the bottom left corner; Leo is a small red dot behind him, his poor skin burned raw.

Leo is absolutely certain it never happened and he feels like his breath has been punched out of him. He stumbles out of the bed. “David?” He needs to reassure himself that he hasn’t completely lost his mind. No, actually, he _needs to know_. Whatever it is. He can deal with it. Perhaps he’s suffering from a selective memory loss.

“David!”

Perhaps he’s dreaming. He hastily glances down at his hand and counts his fingers. They seem perfectly fine so Leo pinches himself hard in his forearm. He feels the tingle and he jabs himself again, feeling the pain. The bitter taste in his mouth is disappointment.

“David!!!” He’s yelling by now but he doesn’t care. Being left in the dark is killing him.

David doesn’t rush into the room so Leo gets to the door, throwing it open and shouting David’s name one more time. Then, he enters the hallway. The hallway swoops and by the time Leo’s eyes adjust, he is somewhere else. Oh. OH.

He has hard time accepting that the world changes each time he pulls a door open. It’s nuts. But that’s just how it is. He tries again and again, opening and closing random doors that pop into existence, hoping to break back into his own world. All he gets is sweet domestic scenes and no football. In despair, he tries door after door after door, feeling like an idiot, and then—

“Leo! I wasn’t expecting to see you so soon!” Dani’s familiar voice booms from behind a mahogany table. He jumps to his feet and crosses the room that looks like an office of some sorts to pull Leo into an embrace. He’s wearing a suit and a grin from one ear to the other. “It’s so nice to see you, man. How have you been?”

“Dani,” Leo says carefully, “how do you think I’ve been?”

Dani’s smile dims a little. “What do you mean? Is something wrong? Are the stocks falling again?”

“I need to talk to you and I want you to be honest with me.”

“Aren’t I always? Come and talk to me,” Dani motions him forward so Leo settles down at the table. “You look like you need a drink,” Dani says, pouring himself two fingers of scotch and immediately downing them. Then he pours shots for both of them.

Leo doesn’t protest, accepting the glass from Dani and taking a sip. He doesn’t say anything for a while. Then he sighs and confesses: “I think I’m insane.”

“Is this about your investments? Leo, I told you to flock to safe haven months ago. Are you still in denial?”

Confused, Leo looks up at Dani. Dani just chuckles. “I’m not talking about David. I’m talking about gold and silver.” He pauses for a moment before shaking his head. “Nah. Forget about silver. But Leo, we’ve been through this.”

Leo feels like weeping. Silently, he pushes his empty glass to Dani and Dani pours him a generous shot. And then another. And another.

Leo ends up whining to David about _everything_ without being sure Dani knows they’re not discussing the situation on the market.

****

~*~

Leo isn’t sure how he ends up confessing to Dani that he’ll disappear if he walks through the door. It has to be somewhere between accepting his fifth (sixth? seventh?) glass and Dani commenting on Leo wearing David’s shirt.

At first Dani doesn’t take Leo’s explanations seriously. Dani doesn’t believe him, of course he doesn’t, and Leo is stupid enough to think a little demonstration would be the best.

Sloshing the precious liquid everywhere, Leo slams his glass down and awkwardly get up from the table. Dani calls something after him. Leo’s unsteady on his feet but he manages to stumble through the door.

Dani’s office is gone that instant and Leo is left standing on a busy street. He grins triumphantly. “See?” Leo shouts back. “I told you!” But when he turns, there is no one behind him.

He stands there for a few seconds before muttering _spoilsport_ and making his way to the nearest empty bench. He lowers himself down while the rest of the world is busy spinning around him and being all smudged around the edges of Leo's vision.

He doesn’t mean to fall asleep, he just wants to close his eyes for a while to stop everything from moving around him. The next thing he knows is waking up on the bench, chilled to his bones, his backs stiff and his muscles sore. It’s already late at night.

The pleasant buzz from the alcohol is gone and he feels even worse than before. His chest hurts and he can’t tell if that’s his anxiety or the bruised ribs. He slowly walks down the street but all the shops are already closed. Then he spots a group of three people standing at the corner of the street, looking his way.

When Leo gets closer, he recognises one of them as David. His hair is longer and shaggier and he is _skinny_. He shakes his head at something the other two people are saying and they laugh and head the other way. Leo watches as David lights up a cigarette, his face briefly flickering into focus. The end of whatever it is he’s smoking glows with faint orange light in the night.

David is standing there alone now and the clothes he’s wearing make it look like he’s not wearing anything at all. Leo can’t help but stare at him. David’s lips curl into a smile that could only be described as luscious as he watches Leo approach. He takes Leo in but there isn’t that spark of recognition in his eyes as he says: “You got enough cash on you?”

“David,” Leo manages to say and David winces slightly but tries to mask it by shifting his weight from one feet to the other.

“You can call me however you want,” David replies and takes a drag from his cigarette. Leo feels his chest tighten and he doesn’t think it’s because of the ribs anymore.

“There’s a no tell motel around the corner,” David raises his eyebrow suggestively. 

Leo wishes he had some money on him because this David looks like he needs them. Or even some food would do. Leo shakes his head and David interprets it as an answer.

“No? Well, I can at least blow you back in the alley,” he points behind himself with the cigarette.

Leo shakes his head in disbelief and takes a step back. David smirks at him but he recognises the signs of Leo’s hasty retreat and he turns his backs to Leo with no further interest.

Leo quickly disappears into the night, in desperate need to find another reality. Anything but this. He vows to himself to grab a backpack and stock up the first chance he gets. Travelling light doesn’t go well with this pseudo road trip.

****

~*~

Leo steps through the door and is not even startled when he finds himself in a lift. The door close behind him quietly.

“Good Morning, Mr. Messi.”

Leo just gives a short nod in reply but it seems to be enough for David, who is standing in the small place, dressed in a suit, his expression sullen.

Leo knows what’s coming even before the lift gets stuck. He wonders if the universe is becoming smarter as there are no doors he could walk through to enter another dimension.

The lift lurches to a stop between floors. He’s really trapped now, no way to escape. He watches as the lights flicker and he sees David loosening his tie before the emergency lighting casts a faint glow over them. Then everything goes pitch black.

Leo gives it a second or two to see if he would be the one panicking but he doesn’t seem to be claustrophobic. “David?”

A brief pause, then: “Mr. Messi?” David is breathing erratically and his voice sounds strangled.

“Oh, David,” Leo says soothingly. “You can call me Leo. Take a deep breath, okay?”

David wheezes.

Leo tries the call button, then he tries banging on the door. “Looks like we’ll have to wait this out,” he concludes after a while. “You have your phone on you?”

“Yes, Mr. Messi.”

“Call me Leo. Can you flick your phone on and check for the signal?”

There is a rustling and then David forces out: “No signal.” The lift stays dark.

Leo sighs and checks his own phone, even though he knows it won’t be that easy. “My battery had died,” he finds out in a while.

David whimpers.

“Don’t worry, David. It won’t be but a few minutes, I hope.”

It takes hours.

Hours filled by silence.

Leo is tired of constantly trying to put a stop on David’s panic attacks and David seems to be holding some kid of a grudge against Leo which drives Leo crazy. Leo doesn’t remember things every being this strained between them.

Yet again, he decides to make the first step. “It’s going to be okay,” he says softly. “We’re going to be okay, David.” He doesn’t quite believe it himself.

David doesn’t say anything.

****

~*~

After being trapped for hours and hours and hours, Leo thinks nothing can be worse. However, something about this universe gives Leo the creeps. He has this feeling in his gut that tells him he’s in a mortal danger. He’s alone, as far as he can tell. The door he used to get there became a solid brick wall once it closed behind him, leaving him in a narrow alley he has to walk down if he wants to get anywhere else.

He takes only a few steps and the daylight changes into a night. The moon shines high in the sky, casting the eeriest shades upon everything. Something moves in front of Leo, peeling itself off the wall.

Leo takes a hesitant step back, bumping into a lamp post that lights up and shines down on him, making it impossible for Leo to see anything out in the dark. 

“Oh, we’re going to have so much fun.”

Leo freezes. David comes into the light, his skin gray, his expression dark. He is watching Leo intently, eyes bright with arousal. Actually, David is _leering_ at him. “So much fun, my boy,” David says in a gravely tone and then he gives Leo a wry smile. The light glistens on his fangs.

Leo swivels around and makes a run for it. Behind him, the creature cackles.

****

~*~

There is an old house at the end of the alley and Leo doesn’t think about it twice before barging inside, praying it will work. He shuts the door closed behind him, sliding down, back against it. Everything is quiet and he feels a relieved sob escaping him.

“Mr. Messi,” a soothing female voice addresses him and Leo blinks his eyes open to stare at the woman. She looks concerned. “Are you feeling all right?”

Leo starts to push himself off the floor. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine, I’ve just...” He trails off, his gaze catching David’s figure propped against the window frame. David gives him a little wave when he notices Leo’s staring.

Leo pales and the woman looks back over her shoulder. “Mr. Messi?” she prompts.

“David,” Leo says thickly, hoping that David in this universe isn’t about to kill him. David nods slightly but doesn’t move any closer.

“Mr. Messi,” the woman says again, urgency noticeable in her tone now. “Are you seeing things again? Is he... Is David here right now?”

“Yes, yes he is,” Leo frowns and makes a little gesture towards David with his right hand. David shakes his head and sighs, taking his eyes away from Leo to watch the woman’s reaction.

For a fleeting moment, Leo thinks he sees defeat in the woman’s face but then her expression is carefully neutral. “Don’t worry, Mr. Messi, we’ll try something else. I’ll send in a nurse with something to get you through the night and I’ll see you first thing tomorrow morning. Don’t worry, we’re not giving up on you.”

She leaves the room and for the first time, Leo notices the two orderlies standing close to the door, looking ready to take Leo down whenever necessary.

“Told you, it’d be better if you learned how to lie about me,” David says, sliding off his perch from the windowsill and crossing the room towards one of the orderlies. He pokes the man into the ribs and Leo shuts his eyes when the man doesn’t even flinch. Like he doesn’t see or feel David at all.

“I think I’d actually better get some sleep,” Leo manages weakly.

“You do that. I’ll be here when you wake up,” David promises.

Leo gulps. “Okay.” He has to get past the door in the morning. He simply _has to._

****

~*~

He sighs with relief when the scenery changes into nice sunny weather. He is standing in the middle of a dusty road; something seems to be off about the picture.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he mutters under his breath when he takes in the buildings around him. He turns around in a full circle and when the scenery still looks the same, he shrugs and heads into _the saloon_.

He half expects the world to shift when he pushes past the swinging doors but he is able to step inside. Leo’s eyes take everything in, from the hostile faces to the old-day furniture. He slowly makes his way to the bar, head up and shoulders rolled back. He feels a few curious gazes on him but he ignores it.

David stands behind the bar, watching him calmly. “On the house,” he says, slamming down a glass of whiskey in front of Leo the moment Leo sits.

In the worlds Leo is passing through, David is always somewhere around. It only makes things worse – he tries talking to David about what’s happening to him but David just stares at him blankly, like he can’t understand a word Leo says. It hurts the most when David doesn’t seem to recognise Leo at all.

Leo takes a sip of his drink. He splutters and his eyes begin to water. “What—?”

David is busy cleaning the glass in his hands with a dirty rug but Leo knows how does it look like when David is trying to hide a smug smile.

“Good stuff, son, eh?” Leo turns to look at the man who spoke to him and he nearly fall down from his stool when he recognizes Tito. He’s still busy gazing at the gold sheriff star when Tito clasps his shoulder and gives him a little shake. “Drink with me.”

Leo doesn’t have the time to form a proper reply – and how does one politely say no to the sheriff anyway? – when the saloon goes deadly silent. Everyone turns their heads to stare at the door. Standing there is group of several people wearing cowboy boots and hats. They seem to be lead by Pep and Leo squints to see if there is also a shining gold star pinned to his chest. Before he can figure it out, the world seems to freeze for a second or two and then everything is in motion.

Tito throws himself into the middle of the brawl and David jumps over the bar, grabs the stool Tito was occupying and with a loud yell, he hurls it without really aiming. “Not in my bar, not in _my_ bar, you idiots,” he shouts. No one listens to him, too busy throwing punches all around.

Leo’s jaw drops but he is quickly forced to snap out of it when a few glasses go flying over his head. Ducking a few fists, he hurries to get the hell out of this place.

****

~*~

In one moment, Leo is rushing to the back door; in the other, he has an armful of David and he is in the locker rooms of Camp Nou.

“You were so great tonight,” David murmurs into his ear, gripping him tightly. Leo shivers because the words sound wrong in the context of the recent days.

“Couldn’t have done it without the rest of the team. And not without you,” Leo says automatically and he prays that it’s the right thing to say. Maybe David didn’t play at all. He doesn’t know anything anymore.

David steps away from him but he still keeps his hands on Leo. His eyes are bright and he is grinning and Leo is suddenly hit by the realisation that he hadn’t seen David smiling this much over football for a long, long time.

David glances around – they are the only ones here. Leo realizes what David’s expression means just in time to stumble back and turn his head as David closes the distance between them.

Warm and smooth, David’s lips catch the corner of his mouth. He draws a little back and looks into Leo’s eyes with so much hurt that Leo blurts out: “Not here. Someone might—”

David silences him with a kiss. “I don’t care,” he says, his hands cupping Leo’s face to adjust the angle. “Leo, I don’t care.”

Leo’s resolution to do the _right_ thing crumbles. There were so many temptations and he ignored them all because that was what he was _used to do_. But in those new, ever-changing worlds, what did it matter? He might never again see the David he first met.  
Heart hammering in his chest, he pulls David nearer and whispers: “Neither do I.”

He avoids opening any doors for several days, reluctant to leave this universe behind. He hates himself for that but he can’t help himself. It’s _David._

****

~*~

The problem with _perfect_ is that Leo knows it’s _too_ perfect. He feels more and more guilty with every single kiss he steals. He shouldn’t have this, he knows that. He just doesn’t have the heart to leave his all too perfect world where he still gets to play football and have David by his side.

It’s tempting, so very, very tempting to stay in this life forever but Leo knows he can’t. It would never be real. At least not for him.

Unable to have _everything_ and nothing at the same time, Leo walks to the closed door and kicks it open in frustration, revealing a busy street. The wind is sharp and it’s snowing, cheery Christmas tunes carrying thought the air. Leo blinks a couple of times before tossing his head back and laughing a little hysterically. For the rest of that day, he keeps opening door after door after door, sweeping through the universes in hope to find the world where he belongs to.

He spends hours dodging scenarios thrown at him but by the end of the day, he has to settle for yet another fantasy version of a home. He chooses it carefully and feels only a little bad for being so selfish. Even if this home means David softly snoring on the other side of the bed, Leo feels more alone than ever.

The worlds come and Leo lets them go; sometimes he doesn’t bother staying longer than a minute, sometimes he indulges himself for a couple of days before moving on. He fears this will be his life now – never ending search for the past. He wonders if it is a punishment for not being brave enough before, for letting the thing between him and David, the real David from the real world, slip through his fingers.

As he muses about this, leaving yet one more crazy world behind, he walks past the door and comes out of a captain cabin on _a schooner_. Within three hours, they are ambushed by pirates and taken captive. _Damn you, Salgari!_ , Leo thinks bitterly as David cuts him free and helps him hide in the lower deck of a bloody pirate ship. Leo hopes they won’t be marooned – good luck finding any doors on a deserted island. The scenarios are getting more and more crazy with each passing day and Leo doesn’t think he can hold it together for much longer.

There is nothing but blue ocean and blue sky everywhere he looks but at least David is here as well. David always seems to be there, wherever the world casts him up. But Leo can’t anymore.

Luckily, the hatch to the main deck works just as fine as any doors, when Leo sneaks out in the middle of the night.

Leo reaches his limits two days after that. It takes one space odyssey, one wedding at which Leo is David’s the best man, and a post-apocalyptic world with zombies. He has to escape from the latter by jumping out of the window. He is surprised when he discovers it works – it was a near call. He lands into a hot summer day. It’s way too hot. Comfortingly hot. The air is stuffy and the sun shines too bright and the house he’s in is familiar. He takes in a deep breath and decides he’s done looking for the life from the past. He’s _home_.

Leo stays in the football-free and David-free world for three blissful months before he realizes with a heavy heart that this isn’t what he wants either.

****

~*~

It’s cold. It’s incredibly cold and he is in a middle of forest and there are no doors anywhere. There are just piles of snow and Leo isn’t wearing enough clothes for this weather. He thinks that David would be somewhere out there as well, caught in the blizzard. Leo should probably go find him, keep them both warm and alive – but Leo is done trying.

He sags down to his knees and then keels over into the snow, shivering. He has troubles breathing, so he turns to his back and stares up into the dark sky. It isn’t as dark as it should be, probably because of all the snow, but it’s still night. It’s _freezing_. Leo thinks that freezing to death isn’t the worst thing that could happen.

He feels tired and sleepy already. Perhaps he would be lucky enough to fall asleep and never wake up. No more false Davids staring at Leo with false love. No more false worlds.

He starts to shiver uncontrollably as the cold seeps into his bones. He curls into himself, tugging his folded arms between his chest and his knees. He clenches and unclenches his fists before he remembers what he’s doing. He stills and lays there for a moment. Then he starts shivering again but this time, he spreads his arms into the snow, as far as he can reach, laying sprawled and vulnerable in the cold.

As the sky grows darker, Leo occupies his thoughts with the memories of David. He wishes he could have told the real David how much he meant to him.

****

~*~

When Leo opens his eyes, his head is killing him. The world is too noisy and too bright and the lingering memory of the icy grip of the death causes him to shiver.

David is leaning over him, talking too fast for Leo to make sense of his words. Leo hears how panicked David’s voice is, though. David is clutching Leo’s hand in his, holding it close to his chest, his thumb stroking Leo’s palm absent-mindedly. Leo tries to keep his eyes on David and he forces a smile because he has always hated all those worried Davids the morphing universe introduced him to.

Leo is shocked by the raw emotions he sees in David’s face.

“He’s coming to himself!” Someone announces as Leo tries to sit up. Several pairs of hands hold him down to the football pitch grass.

“You need to lie down and stay still, Leo,” someone tells him but it’s not David because David’s lips thinned with worry and not a single syllable is getting past them. Leo wishes he could stay awake longer and watch the emotions glitter in David’s eyes. He didn’t know how much he missed seeing David until now. He is too tired; his eyes flutter close sooner than he knows it.

Leo wakes up again when the sun starts to set. The room is dark but warm. David is there, head resting on Leo’s bed, his hand loosely placed over Leo’s. Leo smiles to himself and gives into the urge to reach over with his other hand and stroke David’s cheek. David stiffens at the contact but he doesn’t pull away. Leo thinks he can see David smiling before the frown forming on his face takes over. “How’re you feeling?”

“I’m good,” Leo replies. He doesn’t withdraw his hand and David doesn’t lean back either.

“What are you doing, Leo?” David asks and his breath hitches when Leo leans down and drops a kiss into David’s hair, his hands sneaking around David’s shoulders.

“I missed you,” Leo admits truthfully. David’s eyes widen and his expression becomes so unguarded that Leo is already planning to avoid opening any doors for the next few weeks.

“Leo, you...“ David trails off, voice strained.

Leo smiles, closing his eyes briefly, enjoying the moment. It’s not what he wishes he had but it’s better than nothing. “Yeah,” he says, answering the question David couldn’t bring himself to ask aloud.

“No, I mean, Leo, you’ve just woken up, you can’t know—”

“Oh, c’mon!” Leo huffs.

“Seriously. You wouldn’t even be legally responsible for the things you say in the next 48 hours,” David chuckles nervously.

“So we’ll skip the impromptu Vegas wedding and have a nice dinner instead – when are they letting me out of here? Have they said when I can be discharged?”

“On Thursday,” David replies warily.

Leo lost a track on time a long time ago. All he remembers perfectly is the day before everything stopped making sense. “And today is what?”

David’s worry returns and he stands up, breaking their touch. “They didn’t ask you? Why no one asked you about this shit? Your full name, the date of your birth, which fucking year it is?!”

Leo answers dutifully to calm David down but he still doesn’t get how the time works around here.

David tells him what date it is.

“It’s what?” Leo asks, sitting upright, staring at David in disbelief.

David looks about to ready to cal the nurse but Leo grabs him tightly to prevent him from going anywhere. He feels light-headed and overjoyed and his hands start to shake a little. He suspect there’s a silly grin on his face. “You managed to hit the crossbar three times in a row in _yesterday’s_ practice?”

David blinks. “Yeah, good you remember that, after that blow to your—”

Leo doesn’t hear him anymore, he is staring at David like is seeing him for the first time. Then it hits him. This is David – the _real one_ and _not his_. There isn’t any running away from this. He’s so screwed. Why isn’t David freaking out already? “I’m sorry...” Leo falters. He can never apologise enough.

“Yeah, you had us really worried,” David responds, slowly reaching up to grab Leo’s hand and entwine their fingers together. “Though it wasn’t really your fault.” He looks down to their hands for a moment and then he clears his throat. “I should get that nurse to check on you.”

“Okay,” Leo squeaks out, his heart missing a beat or two.

David hesitates for a second, then: “We can have that dinner on Thursday, if you still want to.”

“Okay!” This time, Leo knows he’s grinning like a madman.

**Author's Note:**

>   
>  ****
> 
> ~*~
> 
> The Woke Up Married!AU  
>  ****
> 
> ~*~
> 
> The Teacher!AU  
>  ****
> 
> ~*~
> 
> The Interrogation!AU  
>  ****
> 
> ~*~
> 
> The H/C Cliché - Hurt  
>  ****
> 
> ~*~
> 
> The H/C Cliché - Comfort  
>  ****
> 
> ~*~
> 
> The Businessman!AU  
>  ****
> 
> ~*~
> 
> The Rentboy!AU  
>  ****
> 
> ~*~
> 
> The Stuck in the Lift Trope  
>  ****
> 
> ~*~
> 
> The Vampire!AU  
>  ****
> 
> ~*~
> 
> The Mental Institution!AU  
>  ****
> 
> ~*~
> 
> The Western!AU  
>  ****
> 
> ~*~
> 
> The Everything-Is-Perfect-Here!AU  
>  ****
> 
> ~*~
> 
> The Pirates!AU and Football-Never-Happened!AU  
>  ****
> 
> ~*~
> 
> Sharing Body Heat (Not)  
>  ****
> 
> ~*~
> 
> The Non-AU!  
>  ****
> 
> ~*~


End file.
